Stronger Together…
WRC of Manatee and Sarasota join forces to empower local women
WORDS: Amy Bell
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
T
(WRC) has been providing
counseling, training, and guidance
to women across the Suncoast for
nearly 40 years. Today, WRC serves
thousands of women and families in
Manatee and Sarasota counties. The
organization of fers strategies and
determination, and a sense of place. It all
comes together to solve immediate needs
and provide hope for the future.
A couple of years ago, the organization
underwent an exciting change: a merger
of Manatee and Sarasota.
“A shared vision to reach greater
numbers of women in a cost-effective
manner was the catalyst that brought the
Sarasota together,” says Ashley Brown,
President & CEO of WRC. In 2016, the
two organizations started to explore
how a merger could create additional
opportunities to empower more women.
Of course, the merger was no easy task.
With The Patterson Foundation providing
facilitation expertise, Brown says the
WRC Board of Directors and executive
leadership of both organizations spent
more than 1,400 hours discussing the idea
with stakeholders, donors, community
leaders, and area community foundations.
A year later, the two organizations
formally joined forces.
Center as the merger of the Manatee and
1, 2017,” Brown emphasizes. “Going
through a merger takes a tremendous
amount of effort. We have an amazing
staff, Board of Directors and volunteers
who continue to work on creating systems
to bring the best of our programming and
culture to the community.”
WRC now offers programming at three
locations: Bradenton, Sarasota, and
Venice. The organization also provides
programming onsite for some community
partners.
Making a Local Impact
Earning a livable wage is a real issue for
women and their families, Brown says. “The
United Way ALICE Report (which stands
for Asset Limited, Income Constrained,
Employed) helps illuminate the magnitude
of this problem,” she adds. The ALICE
population represents those who work hard
and fall above the federal poverty line—but
they still live paycheck to paycheck.
“In other words, the working poor,” she
explains. “For many, a small emergency
crisis.”
Brown points out that 44% of Manatee
County households live below the survival
budget of $47,184 (for a family of 4), and
37% of Sarasota County households live
below the survival budget of $45,984.
“The population that struggles most
is single mother head of households,”
she adds. As housing, child care, and
transportation costs continue to increase,
and local wages are below average, this
working poor population is on the rise in
Manatee and Sarasota counties.
“For many low-income women, their
goal is to attain independence from
public benefit programs and become
they are stuck in a cycle of poverty that
secure level, or they reach a wage that
but results in less net income. This is
also a huge problem for employers
who experience high turnover and work
disruption as individuals quit or reduce
Center is trying to make a change. The
WRC, along with other organizations, is
advocating for state representatives to
that provides for a gradual shift off social
programs as workers earn more money.
They are also calling for representatives
to assess current eligibility levels to
help more families break the cycle of
generational poverty. “Such a system
would create a pathway out of poverty for
individuals and families, help to stabilize
the labor market and reduce overall
government spending,” Brown says.
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